


So why not take the rest?

by sandlaw



Category: Mobsterswitch - Fandom, Problem Sleuth (Webcomic)
Genre: Interrogation Violence, Mental Instability
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:08:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28786956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sandlaw/pseuds/sandlaw
Summary: You get your hands dirty, obviously, sticking your digits in so many metaphorical baked goods, and you sometimes pick up a bad habit or two in the process. For Delinquent, it was cigars. For the late mayor, new automobiles. But Scofflaw? Well... his vices weren't so easily bought.Or; an exploration into the paranoias of Peccant Scofflaw
Kudos: 2





	So why not take the rest?

There's this little voice that nags him in the back of his head. He's learned to drown it out by sheer force of will, but when his veins go icy cold in the dead of night, he lets the latch up and lets the old hound loose. 

Peccant Scofflaw has clawed tooth and nail to get to where he is today. Peccant Scofflaw is worth money. His name is carried by the voices of people who matter. His finger is in every metaphorical pie, the kind that show up on the winning plate no matter which way you slice it. You get your hands dirty, obviously, sticking your digits in so many metaphorical baked goods, and you sometimes pick up a bad habit or two in the process. For Delinquent, it was cigars. For the late mayor, new automobiles. But Scofflaw? Well... his vices weren't so easily bought. 

It's five in the morning when he strolls confidently down the east-side docks, skirting the edges of man-made canals and pointedly ignoring the rising sun fringing his vision with a pale blue hue. He's got his ring of keys loosely slung in the crook of his right index finger, his other hand shoved unceremoniously into the pocket of his slacks. He stops in front of an old, beat up cargo crate fixed with an ugly yellow padlock up front. His keys jingle as he sorts through the mass of keys, whistling through the second verse of Billie Holiday's _All of Me_ as he searches.

When the padlock comes free from its hook a quick second later, Scofflaw already has his ring of keys swapped into his jacket pocket, trading it out for a single brass key. He slides inside, letting the entrance swing just almost shut.

Diligent Bankteller is on his knees in the center of the crate, blood only barely visible against the heavy scuffs across his brow and chin. He manages to sink out of his blood-loss haze when Scofflaw comes striding in enough to backpeddle until his back clangs hollowly with the back of his makeshift solitary confinement.

"Teller! It's been too long." Scofflaw bends forward, slapping Bankteller amiably on the shoulder just one measure too strong. Bankteller winces visibly, eyes fixed on Scofflaw's matte black dress shoes. Faux leather, and well kept rather than brand new. 

He didn't come here to exchange dress code pleasantries though. Scofflaw roughly grabs Bankteller by the chin and makes absolute sure he's looking him right in the eyes. 

"You didn't ask, but my I'm doing mighty fine. You, on the other hand. Well, nothing by it, but you look like absolute shit."

He barks with laughter, cutting himself off abruptly when he hears he's the only one laughing. There was something about it, laughing alone, that always rubbed him the wrong way. He pushes Teller's face away in thinly veiled repulsion. 

"Are you feeling any chattier this fine morning, Teller? Because it's awfully nice out there, and, truthfully speaking, I really don't want to be here any more than you do. Never been a big fan of these docks," Scofflaw sighs, tapping his key against the nearest wall. On the second hit it flips into a revolver, solid and threateningly heavy. Bankteller visibly shrinks, his bloodshot eyes flitting away from the hints of morning light creeping in through the gap in the entrance.

"I suh-- I swear t-to you, I have nothing. Please. If I had anything to offer I would have already," Teller stutters, his tongue barely forming words between his chattering teeth. "Please. I swear."

Scofflaw sighs dramatically, letting his weight sag as he blows air out from between his lips. 

"Teller, Teller, old buddy of mine, old friend. I know you know that isn't what I came here to hear."

Scofflaw leans back, rubbing a hand over his brow like he's just a stressed out pencil pusher. A beat of silence passes, only broken intermittently by the sound of chattering teeth. 

Quick as lightning, Scofflaw snakes his arms out and grabs Teller by the remains of their torn previously-white collar. He leans in close to Teller's ear, giving himself a wide enough berth to avoid direct contact, even with all of the violent shaking.

"I know what you've been up to, Teller," Scofflaw hisses, the friendly control completely abandoned by now. "I come to you, I trust you with one simple job, and you can't even do that much, can you? Had to run your mouth to someone. Had to give another uninvited party a tip off. Well, I hope the penny you made was pretty enough to pay for all the shit I'm about to do to you."

Scofflaw shoves Teller back into the wall of the crate hard enough to make the whole thing rattle. Teller is obviously at his wit's end, struggling to connect words in the right order in his dried out mouth. But the look in his eyes has changed, and Scofflaw likes it less the longer he stares.

'He thinks I'm crazy.' The thought is unwanted, but stings hard enough to make him let go of Teller. 'Paranoid basket case. That's what I am to him.' 

You don't come as far as Peccent Scofflaw has by questioning yourself. That's not who _Peccant Scofflaw_ is. But something was eating away at him from the inside out, acidic and nauseating, bubbling up into a question he couldn't help but voice out loud.

Bankteller looked up, and, despite everything, in his eyes flashed a moment of gut-feeling pity. 

Scofflaw decided he didn't like that answer very much at all.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!!! Thanks for reading again guys...! This was more of an old edgy one that I found collecting dust so I gave it some quick edits and decided to post... Hope you enjoyed!!


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